Rocky Jordan
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''Rocky Jordan'' was a radio series about an American restaurateur in
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
who each week became involved in some kind of mystery or adventure. The show was broadcast on
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
from October 31, 1948, to September 10, 1950, and then again from June 27, 1951, to August 22, 1951. The character of Rocky Jordan had been introduced to listeners in a similar show called ''A Man Named Jordan'' that was broadcast from 1945 to 1947 on the CBS West Coast network, but set in
Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, rather than Cairo. In February 1951, it was announced CBS was in discussions to make a TV series based on the show starring George Raft made by Raft's company. However this never happened.


Cast

The two lead roles were those of Rocky Jordan and Captain Sam Sabaaya of the Cairo Police. For most of the show's history Jordan was played by veteran radio actor Jack Moyles, but he was later replaced by a movie star,
George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
, for the brief 1951 run.
Jay Novello Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor. Early life Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three siblin ...
played Sabaaya throughout the entire series. Other roles were played by members of Hollywood's Radio Row, and the announcer was
Larry Thor Larry Thor (August 27, 1916 – March 15, 1976) was a radio newscaster and announcer, an actor in film and radio, and a university professor. He "was noted for his distinctive voice ... his rich resonant tones." Early professional life A native ...
.


Characters


Rocky Jordan

Rocky Jordan ( Jack Moyles/
George Raft George Raft (born George Ranft; September 26, 1901 – November 24, 1980) was an American film actor and dancer identified with portrayals of gangsters in crime melodramas of the 1930s and 1940s. A stylish leading man in dozens of movies, Raft is ...
) is the proprietor of the Café Tambourine, which is located, according to the announcer, ''"not far from the Mosque Sultan Hassan,''" though he is originally from
St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...
.Episode 29, ''The Make up Man'' During the course of the series, it is revealed that Rocky previously ran a Café Tambourine not only in Istanbul (known from the previous series, "A Man Named Jordan") but also in San FranciscoEpisode 97, ''Trail of the Assassin'' and other locales. As an American restaurateur in a North African country, Jordan is somewhat similar to the
Rick Blaine Rick may refer to: People *Rick (given name), a list of people with the given name *Alan Rick (born 1976), Brazilian politician, journalist, pastor and television personality *Johannes Rick (1869–1946), Austrian-born Brazilian priest and mycol ...
character in the film ''
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
'', though the Café Tambourine is apparently a much less salubrious venue than Rick's Bar. The announcer describes it as being ''"Crowded with forgotten men, and alive with the babble of many languages"''. Each episode sees Jordan confronted with a "crime, a mystery, a beautiful woman, or a combination of the three". Precisely why Jordan is now in Egypt rather than Istanbul (as in the previous series) is never mentioned and the reason for being unable to return home to the United States is deliberately left vague, though it is hinted at throughout the course of the series that some occurrence in St. Louis prevents him from doing so.


Sam Sabaaya

Sam Sabaaya (
Jay Novello Jay Novello (born Michael Romano, August 22, 1904 – September 2, 1982) was an American radio, film, and television character actor. Early life Novello was born in Chicago to Joseph Romano and Maria (Salemme) Romano. He had three siblin ...
) is the police captain who apprehends the criminals at the end of each adventure. Sabaaya is portrayed as a diligent and competent policeman, usually as Jordan's friend and ally but sometimes as his
foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...
. He is an Egyptian Muslim,Episode 30, ''Desert Betrayal'' is married, and has four children.Episode 41, ''Cairo Vendetta''


Other characters

Two further characters appear in some but not all episodes, Chris (voiced in most episodes by
Lawrence Dobkin Lawrence Dobkin (September 16, 1919 – October 28, 2002) was an American television director, character actor and screenwriter whose career spanned seven decades. Dobkin was a prolific performer during the Golden Age of Radio. He narrate ...
) and Sergeant Greco (
Lou Krugman Lou may refer to: __NOTOC__ Personal name * Lou (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Lou (German singer) * Lou (French singer) * Lou (surname 娄), the 229th most common surname in China * Lou (surname 楼), the 269th most co ...
).Episode 58, ''The Veiled People'' Chris is the bartender at the Café Tambourine, while Greco is one of Sabaaya's underlings. Greco has a particular dislike of Jordan, and invariably tries to make his life difficult, often by arresting him as the chief suspect in whatever crime Jordan is trying to solve. He's also ambitious and eager for promotion.


Style

A deliberately Eastern feel was created by careful use of music and sound effects, and the writers Larry Roman and Gomer Cool took care that the characters used the names of real streets in Cairo. Much of the information the writers used for this came from a book called the ''Pocket Guide to Egypt'' that the US Army had produced for servicemen sent there during the
War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...
. The Oriental-sounding music composed for the show by Richard Aurandt is considered to be of exceptional quality.


References


External links

* {{InternetArchiveOTR, id=RockyJordan, title=Rocky Jordan American radio dramas 1940s American radio programs 1950s American radio programs CBS Radio programs